Height is not a serious aspect when choosing an enclosure for your green tree python. Yes, you should have about 1 foot of height for juveniles and 2 feet of height for adults, but anymore than that is unnecessary. In the wild, green tree pythons crawl horizontally when looking for food and water, not up and down tree trunks. Having an enclosure with such height can cause your green tree python to suffer from dehydration for not being able to reach their water bowl. The height of the enclosure should be enough for your green tree python to reach his water bowl if it wants to drink from its perch.

Remember, a larger habitat is always better, so do not just base your enclosure requirements based off of this care sheet. You can always go bigger! But remember…. More width than height for a green tree pythons enclosure.

Note: Lids and lid locks are necessary because green tree pythons can and will try to get out of their tank on occasion. If you do not have lid locks, you can easily place a few heavy objects on the corners of the lid.

Tank Setup

Perches & Branches

Green Tree Pythons love to explore at night, when they are most active. Having this in mind, you should include lots of perches, vines, branches, and etc to climb on. Make sure each climbing product that you use is securely locked in place. Having one of the climbing materials fall when your green tree python is on it, can cause your green tree python to get injured. During the day, your green tree python will be resting on a perch all day coiled up with their head in the middle of their coils. In other words, your snake will be on perches and climbing materials 23/7 leaving the other hour for feeding and hydration. All in all, climbing materials are a must!

Foliage

You’re going to want to include some foliage for your green tree python to feel secured and protected, being able to hide in the foliage. You may use fake or real plants. Real plants do however give an advantage over fake plants by giving the enclosure a more realistic feel, adding humidity levels in the enclosure, and making it look nicer. Just make sure to trim your plants monthly and have proper lighting.

Water Bowl

Your green tree python will need a water bowl to soak and hydrate throughout the day. Water should be changed out every other day to avoid bacteria build up.

Lighting & Heating

Green Tree Pythons do not need a UVB bulb. All they need is a source of heat through a heat lamp or a heat pad (which goes on from the outside of the tank, not the inside).

Temperatures

When measuring temperatures, it’s best to use digital thermometers. Dial thermometers tend to give off inaccurate measurements.

Day Time

Cool side: 78 – 80 °F

Warm side: 86 – 88 °F

Night Time

No lights are necessary. The temperatures should be between 70 – 75 °F. If it is too cold to meet this temperature without lights, I recommend using a ceramic heat emitter or a reptile infrared heat light.

Feeding & Diet

Frozen & Thawed Mice or Rats

Here at clubfauna, we strive for the most humane feedings possible, which is why you should try frozen feeders first. Feeding frozen (pre-killed) rodents will benefit you, the feeder, and the green tree python. It will benefit you because you won’t have to keep going to the store to buy live feeders or deal with a living rodent if your snake isn’t hungry. It will benefit your snake by allowing your green tree python to easily consume the prey without a struggle (some rodents bite and scratch). Lastly, it will benefit the feeder by not having to endure a painful death. Obviously, the choice to feed frozen & thawed vs live rodents is up to you, but please take all the benefits into consideration when deciding.

Frozen meals should be warmed according to the package directions. You may feed them by using long tongues and dangling the mice/rat to imitate movement. This method can decrease the aggression build up in a green tree python making him less aggressive.

Live Mice or Rats

You can throw the live feeder into the enclosure and let the snake attack it on its own or you can dangle the live feeder by its tail using tongues or your hand (if you’re experienced) and let the snake attack it that way. However, this method does have a downfall. Most snake owners will tell you that feeding live mice/rats can cause harm to your pet snake. How? Because every feeder will always try to get away when trying to be eaten by another animal causing scratching and biting which can severely harm your snake.

If in 20 minutes, the feeder has not been eaten, the Python will usually not eat it that day. Never leave a feeder in your Green Tree Pythons enclosure for a longer period of time or overnight. This could cause harm, stress, or problems for your Python. Simply remove the feeder and try again in three days.

Humidity

Humidity levels should be between 70 – 80%. You can reach these percentages easily by putting a water bowl into the enclosure and by misting the enclosure twice daily. These percentages are very important when your green tree python starts to shed. The humidity will help your green tree python shed more easily. You can easily measure the humidity percentages by using a digital hygrometer (humidity gauge). Dial hygrometers tend to give off inaccurate measurements.

During shed, do not attempt to handle your snake without caution. The pythons vision becomes altered at this point and he may consider your hand to be food and may attempt to strike you.

Hydration

A water bowl must be present in the enclosure to allow your green tree python to hydrate and soak whenever it needs to. The size water bowl should be big enough for your green python to submerge itself in the water if it wants to, but small enough to easily get out of. Also, make sure to place the water bowl next to the perch where your green tree python chooses to sleep and rest to make sure he can reach it. If he can’t reach, he may suffer from dehydration. Water bowls should be cleaned every other day to reduce the chance of bacterial build up and dirty water.

Safe water to use:

De-chlorinated water.

Tap water that has been left out for 24 hours uncovered, allowing the chlorine to evaporate.

Bottled water.

Substrate

Unprinted newspaper and paper towels may be used for a cheap and safe substrate. Repti bark, cypress mulch, and coconut husk is an alternative that you may use to add a little more naturalistic look to the enclosure. However, it is a little more expensive. But, this will help with the more “at home” feeling for your green tree python. It will also help with humidity levels. Sand is not recommended as a substrate to be used at all.

Note: The information on this green tree python care sheet is not a substitute for veterinary care.